Book review: West, Paige 2012. From Modern Production to Imagined Primitive: The Social World of Coffee from Papua New Guinea.

In her newest book Paige West sets out to examine neoliberal capitalism, its effects and global connections by tracing the production, distribution and consumption of coffee. More specifically her focus is on coffee produced by the Gimi speaking peoples of the Eastern Highlands of Papua New Guinea (PNG). In an ethnographically rich description West shows how the Gimi produce coffee; attach meaning to it and how coffee production has profoundly changed the Gimi environment and subjectivities. By tracing the movement of coffee, she shows how the Gimi interact with Papua New Guinean buyers, what social worlds coffee creates among coffee workers and coffee producer elites of urban PNG and finally how coffee from Eastern Highlands is being sold in capitalism’s centers.Non peer reviewe

Reprises: Chris Gregory’s Gifts and Commodities and the frontier

Chris Gregory’s Gifts and Commodities (1982) is widely regarded as a classic in economic anthropology as well as in studies on Melanesia. The work offers a lucid typology and definition of the concepts of ‘gift’ and ‘commodity’based on the tradition of political economy and economic anthropology. It shows how in colonial Papua New Guinea (PNG) gift and commodity economies articulated with each other and—contrary to the assumption of neoclassical economists—expanded simultaneously. In recounting how labour and primary production were commodi ed in colonial PNG, Gregory analyses the development and demise of the plantation economy and utilizes the concept of the ‘labour frontier’ that moved to new areas and eventually closed leading to the crisis of the plantation sector. In this essay I will briefly discuss Gregory’s notion of the ‘labour frontier’, relate it to later theorizations of the concept of ‘frontier’ and discuss how Gregory’s accounts helped me to understand contemporary dynamics of oil palm development in contemporary PNG.Non peer reviewe

From Confrontation to Collaboration: a Case Study on Arla Foods and NGO-MNE Collaboration on CSR

This research is centered around the largely debated, evolving phenomenon of NGO-MNE collaboration on CSR. The study further focuses on the European dairy industry through studying NGOs in relation to global dairy cooperative Arla Foods. The study’s key objective is to explore the influencing capacity of NGOs on MNE’s CSR initiatives through collaborative engagement methods. Such influence is studied through focus on three themes formulating the study’s research questions, namely the type, length and value of collaboration affecting influence. Such a focus aims to contribute to the current research gap on influence from the NGO viewpoint, across contexts and cases. The theoretical approach is formulated around the field of CSR, more specifically NGO- MNE collaboration and further influence within collaboration. Moreover the study follows a qualitative approach, where structured phone interviews were conducted with altogether 10 representatives from 9 NGOs as well as 2 representatives from Arla. The sampling method of purposive sampling was used where NGOs were selected from Arla’s main markets: Sweden, Denmark, Germany and the UK. Qualitative content analysis of the interviews is further used in order to uncover the NGO views in-depth. Finally the key findings uncover the effects of type, length and value on influence. Higher involvement types tend to lead to higher influencing capacity due to frequency of contact and relationship length building trust, networks and involving resources. With higher, longer involvement the potential benefits (informational, reputational, financial or network-based) seem to increase competitive advantage and further influencing potential. Hence according to the study NGO influence on MNEs tends to be based on the value obtained from collaboration, which may differ based on type and further change over time. Although such findings are common, there is difference between NGO and MNE viewpoints and the presence of discrepancies. Such cases show how influence and value may be achieved even with shorter, lower involvement types such as dialogue. Overall the findings refute the pessimistic scholarly arguments of NGOs’ inability to function as influencers, while they support the optimistic assertion of potential NGO influence following the stakeholder approach. Here the power and legitimacy of NGOs may be increased through the studied themes. Such findings provide fruitful insights for both scholars, furthering possible theory development around the themes’ connectedness, and practitioners, strengthening collaboration and increasing value in the future

Rupert Stasch. Society of Others: Kinship and Mourning in a West Papuan Place .

Rupert Stasch. Society of Others: Kinship and Mourning in a West Papuan Place. Berkeley, Los Angeles and London: University of California Press, 2009. Pp. 336. ISBN: 978-0-520-25685-9 (hardback); 978-0-520-25686-6 (paperback)

Introduction: Place, movement, and sociality in Oceania

Non peer reviewe